This last weekend was the 2015 Anime Expo, the largest North American anime & manga convention. Four days of anime fans gathering and filling one of the largest convention centers in California. Numerous announcements filled the panel rooms as industry filed into this convention as force. Video rooms and workshops were major mainstays as well, with video rooms showing anime 24 hours of the day during the show.
Not only were MangaGamer and Right Stuf announcing upcoming titles, A1 Pictures shared their production methods and video from their upcoming title Anthem of the Heart. Other events occurred over the whole weekend, throughout the many panel rooms everyone from Funimation to Keiji Inafune presented both new projects and old. In fact, looking at the guest and vendor list, it read like a who’s who of the anime industry.
Cosplay was big as it is every year, and a gallery can be seen below of some of my favorite shots. The exhibit hall was equally impressive, with local vendors to international distributors to manufacturers bringing product and display. Key Visual Arts and Bandai had booths, as did endless artists in the cavernous artist alley section.
Unfortunately, these positives and the huge size of AX did come with a major down side. Getting around the convention center and trying to get into events becomes, well, there’s not a nice way to put it. Many attendees do take to calling AX “Line Con,” especially as the convention staff create immense lines outside in the bright Los Angeles sun. However, the staff did a much better job then in previous years of keeping things running smoothly and efficiently. Never have I seen such a well run convention pass pick up line.
I had a great time at this show. The panels and events I was able to attend were great to see. The vibe and environment were as good as always, if a little more crowded then I prefer. I’ll be looking forward to AX 2016 with great eagerness.
Overview Anime fans in the West have usually have to suffer some level of disconnect to many popular series since most have been adapted either from a light novel or a manga that they have no legal access to. This usually isn’t too much of an issue as many of these fans usually have no idea what they might be missing out on but with a series going into its third season, The World God Only Knows may be a bit of a problem for some. That being said, now that The World God Only Knows: Goddesses is available in North America is the series worth continuing?
Story Where the previous seasons of The World God Only Knows followed a fairly straightforward formula of Keima Katsuragi encountering girls who have had holes in their hearts occupied by runaway spirits. In order to drive these spirits out Keima must make these girls fall in love with him and despite this sounding like every man’s dream, Keima never has had an interest in the 3D world as he is simply the God of Conquest in dating games.
The World God Only Knows: Goddesses takes and puts a new twist on the formula but not before skipping over a large swathe of character arcs and various other conquests Keima would have had to made between the second and third seasons. Now this usually wouldn’t be too much of an issue as the series does try an extremely brief recap, the fact of the matter is that many of the girls that Keima had to conquer that were skipped over now play large roles in The World God Only Knows: Goddesses. It is worth noting that there were OVAs released for a few of these characters but these specials were released separately by Sentai Filmworks and months after this release.
Now while this large skip may be problematic, it actually doesn’t do too much damage to the actual storyline itself since the aforementioned recap and quick introduction of Tenri’s goddess Diana serves as a way to catch fans up on what is going on. As we quickly find out, while most girls who Keima has had to make fall in love with him have forgotten about him after they were conquered, a small selection still remember everything that he did for them and that is because goddesses called the Jupiter Sisters, beings that helped put a stop to the ancient demons of hell called the Weiss when they tried to take over the three realms of Earth in the past.
In an attempt to seal the Weiss, the goddesses needed to be sealed together with the Weiss only to be unleashed at the same time as the spirits. With a group of unknown demons from Hell known as Vintage preparing to restore the Weiss, the group is actively targeting girls who have previously been conquered by Keima and with both Elsie and Haqua growing concerned that even the upper echelons of Hell have already been infiltrated by Vintage, it is up to Keima to once again try and find which girls remember him to not only put a stop to Vintage, but to save their lives as well.
Despite forcing a lot of exposition at times, relying heavily on flashbacks for girls who have not been given proper screentime due to the content skip, and feeling rushed due to the limited number of episodes, The World God Only Knows: Goddesses is told relatively well. This is mostly due to the way that many of the older girls are brought back into the fold, great storytelling that creates a compelling narrative despite the aforementioned limitations, and a number of emotional impacts with quite a bit of character development.
Since we see Keima having to often deal with multiple girls at a time, there still is quite a bit of humor here and there, though is of a different brand than fans of the first two series may be familiar with. As far as development goes, I will not say too much as it plays a pivotal role in actually showing Keima become something more than just someone who is going through the motions with these girls only to constantly retreat back to his 2D dating sims, but throughout the second half of The World God Only Knows: Goddesses viewers should prepare for quite a few emotional moments, especially during the final episode.
Visuals While the story may be trying something new, The World God Only Knows: Goddesses still retains the same style of artwork provided by Manglobe. This is far from a bad thing considering how great the first two seasons look and how many of the Goddesses now occupying the bodies of certain girls share the appearances of their hosts but with slight differences.
The background artwork is fairly standard but there is quite a lot of colorful variety to be seen. A large number of new characters are being animated for the first time in this release and fans will be thankfully be pleased with their appearances, especially since quite a few important moments are centered around these new characters as they fit in with the series’ style.
Audio As with past releases of this series, Sentai Filmworks has released the series with both the Japanese voice track as well as their own English dub. They have managed to retain all of the same voice actors and actresses in this release and they continue to play their roles well while the new characters sound fitting enough.
It is worth noting that in the English dub all of the songs sung by Kanon are fittingly kept in Japanese while the rest of the background music is fairly standard. The opening theme “God only knows -Secrets of the Goddess-” continues to follow the same trend as past seasons by being an impressive and memorable theme while multiple ending themes are used throughout the series including a standard theme used in the first half featuring the Japanese voice actresses for specific characters singing the lyrics.
Extras Sentai Filmworks’ release of The World God Only Knows: Goddesses includes a clean version of the opening animation, clean versions of all of the closing animations, and trailers for other anime series from the company.
Overall The World God Only Knows: Goddesses may have been forced to rush through quite a bit of important content after already skipping a large number of story arcs but it tells a different type of story than fans may be familiar with. By bucking the formulaic trend of past seasons, The World God Only Knows: Goddesses establishes a solid plot line from beginning to emotional end that brings a number of favorite characters back into the spotlight while also delivering a number of dramatic moments and one heart wrenching moment as well.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
Another team of guests for RTX Australia 2016 has been announced. Aaron Marquis and Chris Demarais will be coming down to the event, which will be held on January 23 and 24, 2016. Rooster Teeth fans may know the two as the hosts of the web-series Social Disorder, in which the two gave each other awkward and embarrassing challenges to complete in public. The two are also screenwriters and editors for Rooster Teeth’s upcoming feature film, Lazer Team. More information about the two can be found at RTXAU.com. The details there are somewhat accurate, but the details about Aaron are exaggerated to a certain extent.
All of the Early Bird weekend passes for the event have sold out. Individual day passes are still available.
Madman Entertainment’s manga releases of July 2015 are now available. Here is the full list, which includes many manga series that have been or still are being adapted into anime.
It’s San Diego Comic-Con this weekend and the game industry is out in full force with some big announcements. Microsoft isn’t missing out the fun this weekend, with big news about Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Minecraft, and Forza Motorsport 6.
Xbox One Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Bundle and Behind-the-Scenes Video Unveiled at Comic-Con
Microsoft announced they will be bundling a 500 GB Xbox One with a digital download code for Gears of War: Ultimate Edition for $499 AUD. The new bundle was announced at a panel at San Diego Comic-Con and will launch on August 18th in Australia. Buyers will also get a 14 day Xbox Live Gold trial, the Superstar Cole multiplayer skin, and early access to the Gears of War 4 multiplayer beta. The bundle will only be available at select retailers in Australia.
More Cars Ready to Roll This Week in Forza Motorsport 6 Garage
This week Microsoft announced 39 cars that will join the existing 40 previously announced cars in Forza Motorsport 6’s garage. There will be more than 450 cars in the final car list. This week highlights include the new 2014 Volvo #13 Volvo Polestar Racing S60 STCC touring car and the 1999 BMW #15 BMW Motorsport V12 LMR. The full list of announced cars can be found at the official blog.
Gears of War: Ultimate Edition Beta Findings and Fixes
The community played over a million matches during the Gears of War: Ultimate Edition open beta. As a result, The Coalition has made a huge number of changes to squash out various bugs, fix game imbalances, and tweak the visuals. Those who participated will be receiving multiplayer characters and weapon skins for the full game when it launches. While you wait for the game’s launch, you should check out this infographic that The Coalition has compiled from the 8 days of open beta. Gears of War: Ultimate Edition launches in Australia on August 18th with all the modern trappings for a next gen console.
Announcing Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition Beta
A new version of Minecraft was announced at Minecon last week. Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition will allow players to enjoy the game with friends over Xbox Live up to seven friends. Microsoft and Mojang plan to support multiplayer with Minecraft: Pocket Edition later in the year. The beta will launch on the Windows 10 Store on July 29th and will be absolutely free to owners of the Java game. Otherwise, it will be available $10. Mac and Linux gamers shouldn’t panic, as Mojang has assured that Minecraft: Windows 10 Edition will exist alongside the Java edition.
With the release of Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance growing closer, NIS America is making sure fans of the series get acquainted with a few of the new systems that are being introduced into the tried and true battle formula. For the most part players will still battle in the same way by taking advantage of team attacks and the like, though this time around three new systems have also been implemented.
This includes Alliance Attacks, new team attacks that feature specific characters teaming up to deal massive damage with special moves, the Revenge Mode that gives characters large stat boosts and powerful new abilities when allies take damage or are defeated in battle, and finally the Overload mode that Overlord characters can use to unleash over-the-top extremely powerful skills on their foes when they enter Revenge Mode.
A number of screenshots showing off these various systems can be found below. As for the game itself, Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance is set to be released on the PlayStation 4 in North America on October 6th and in Europe on October 9th.
The Disgaea Triple Play Collection has just been released in Europe but it until today it was unknown whether or not this collection that includes Disgaea 3, Disgaea 4, and Disgaea D2 would be released in North America. That changed earlier today when NIS America announced that they will be releasing the Disgaea Triple Play Collection in North America on September 15th for the PlayStation 3.
With Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance set to be released on the PlayStation 4 less than a month after Disgaea Triple Play Collection‘s release, this may be a great opportunity for potential fans to try out the three most recent games in the series, though be prepared to spend many hours with each title.
Today at Comic-Con International: San Diego, Activision Publishing, Inc. and developer PlatinumGames Inc. released a new gameplay trailer for their upcoming third-person action-brawler, TRANSFORMERS: Devastation. Blasting off with a showdown between cosmic rivals, this new in-game footage puts the heavy metal clash of the heroic AUTOBOTS and insidious DECEPTICONS front and center with explosive cel-shaded detail.
TRANSFORMERS: Devastation brings Hasbro’s converting robot titans to life with classic Generations styling and modern attitude. This new trailer highlights four of the five playable heroes in the game – OPTIMUS PRIME, BUMBLEBEE, SIDESWIPE and WHEELJACK – as well as notorious foes like MEGATRON, STARSCREAM and the towering combiner, DEVASTATOR. Whether leaping into vehicle form to ram enemies at high speed or juggling them in mid-air with a flurry of blinding-fast combos, the dynamic action of TRANSFORMERS: Devastation is so close it’s personal.
TRANSFORMERS: Devastation is expected to launch later this year on the PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment systems, Xbox One, the all-in-one games and entertainment system from Microsoft, the Xbox 360 games and entertainment system from Microsoft, and Windows PC via Steam. For the latest updates until then, please visit www.TransformersGame.com and www.facebook.com/TransformersGame.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com, or by following @Activision.
About PlatinumGames Inc.
PlatinumGames Inc. is an independent entertainment developer based in Osaka, Japan, dedicated to making high-quality, next-generation games for a variety of hardware platforms. Under the slogan “Taking on the World as the Representative of Japan,” PlatinumGames works hard to deliver fresh surprises and new experiences to gamers all over the world. Official website: www.platinumgames.com
About Hasbro, Inc.
Hasbro (NASDAQ: HAS) is a global company committed to Creating the World’s Best Play Experiences, by leveraging its beloved brands, including LITTLEST PET SHOP, MAGIC: THE GATHERING, MONOPOLY, MY LITTLE PONY, NERF, PLAY-DOH, TRANSFORMERS, and premier partner brands. From toys and games, television programming, motion pictures, digital gaming and a comprehensive lifestyle licensing program, Hasbro fulfills the fundamental need for play and connection for children and families around the world. The Company’s Hasbro Studios creates entertainment brand-driven storytelling across mediums, including television, film and more. Through the company’s commitment to corporate social responsibility, including philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to build a safe and sustainable world and to positively impact the lives of millions of children and families every year. Learn more at www.hasbro.com and follow us on Twitter (@Hasbro & @HasbroNews).
For 11 million players worldwide, the world of Wraeclast changes forever
Auckland, New Zealand — July 10, 2015 — Grinding Gear Games announced that Path of Exile: The Awakening will go live today at 12:00 p.m. PDT. The biggest and most far-reaching expansion of the game to date, Path of Exile: The Awakening takes the player on a dark journey as they descend into the depths of nightmare. Great secrets about the world of Wraeclast will be discovered and even greater battles will be fought.
“The Awakening will be a game-changer,” says MMORPG, while MMOHuts goes so far as to proclaim The Awakening to be “the most bat shit crazy expansion ever to shake up the island of exiles.” “Oh, yes,” adds MassivelyOP. “Act IV will be the hard act to follow.”
“That’s the thing they continue to do with Path of Exile, in particular The Awakening,” says GameSpot. “It’s ‘how many different ways can we make players happy?'”
Since the game’s release in October 2013, Path of Exile has exploded into more than just a community of 11.2 million players worldwide, it has become a massive RPG phenomenon… and it is about to get even bigger! Path of Exile: The Awakening is more than just Path of Exile‘s fourth act – it improves and expands upon every aspect of the game. With a crazy new twist on the iconic Passive Skill Tree and numerous systems changes, this expansion has been internally dubbed Path of Exile Version 2.0.0. The Awakening completely changes the Path of Exile experience and includes new items, monsters, maps, skills, and many quality of life improvements suggested by the Path of Exile community.
Gamers can get an in-depth look at Path of Exile: The Awakening next week during the MLB All-Star break when World Champion San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence and Lexi Cozombolides play the game live on the
Act IV Is Here! Act IV continues Path of Exile’s storyline. The time has finally come to venture into the center of corruption itself and drive a blade through its black heart.
Explore Beyond Highgate: For the first time since launch, The Awakening introduces completely new areas, monsters and end-game maps to expand the world of Wraeclast.
Defeat Legendary Bosses: Experience climactic boss encounters with characters from Wraeclast’s past such as Shavronne, Doedre, Malachai and many more.
Powerful New Skill Gems: With new classes of skills such as elemental Golems that fight by your side, warcries and several new support gems, players are able to create new clever and intricate builds.
Socketable Passive Tree: Collect and craft Jewels that can be socketed into the Passive Tree to drastically change the tree itself.
Masses of New Gear: Find more than 110 new Unique Items and discover an entirely new set of equipment, the Maraketh Weapons.
User Experience Improvements: Extensive user interface improvements, added more customization options and implemented many community-suggested changes.
Check out the Path of Exile: The Awakening trailer here:
Path of Exile is an online PC action role-playing game set in a dark fantasy world. Featuring ethical microtransactions, the game is free-to-play, but never pay-to-win. Playing as one of seven character classes, players find themselves banished for their past misdeeds to the dark fantasy world of Wraeclast. There, they encounter hundreds of species of opponents laden with loot and mysterious artifacts as they explore the abandoned continent. www.pathofexile.com
About Grinding Gear Games
Grinding Gear Games is an independent game studio founded in 2006 and based in Auckland, New Zealand. Its team members come from various countries and have a diversity of backgrounds ranging from artificial intelligence and software security to industrial design and professional tournament gaming. GGG recently released its flagship title, Path of Exile, and is committed to ongoing expansion and new content releases for the critically acclaimed game. You can find more information about Grinding Gear Games at www.grindinggear.com.
Is the future truly set? Can we change the past to create a better future? X-Men: Days of Future Past delves into the uncertainties of the mutant species, the threat of their extinction and the decade that triggered an inevitable war between Homo sapiens and Homo superiors. With the upcoming release of X-Men: Days of Future Past Rogue Cut on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD, fans are invited to travel back in time to see an alternate cut of the original film released in May 2014. Does the additional content change the experience, reconcile the past and unite mutants and humans for the future?
Story
The X-Men universe in 2023 is falling apart; a dark and desolate world ravaged by the Sentinel Robots that are exterminating mutants and potential carriers of the mutant gene. A glimpse into the future with Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page) teleporting Bishop (Omar Sy) a few days before the Sentinel attack, gives the X-men a few days to take control of battle. Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and Magneto (Ian McKellen) devise a plan to send a mutant as far back as 1973, to change critical events that lead to the future and hopefully ensure a “second chance, a better chance for everyone”. Logan / Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) makes the journey, being the only mutant strong enough to survive the distance. Well, his mind at least is projected back in time, while his body exists in a trance state in the future.
X-Men: Days of Future Past draws together the central characters in the past, while continuing the ‘doomed’ timeline that awaits the X-men in the future. In 1973, Charles Xavier is a lost man (following the events of X-Men: First Class) struggling to accept that a life with walking will come at the expense of no telepathy. Whereas, his “arch nemesis” Erik Lehnsherr is forbidden to use his powers being locked up at the Pentagon, as punishment for assassinating the president John. F. Kennedy. During this impossible time, Logan must bring together these two forces to ensure the fate of Raven / Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and prevent Trask Industries from creating the Sentinel Robots with her DNA.
Despite the government opposition, Dr. Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) is adamant on moving forward with his Sentinel program and is more inclined to do so, after encountering the mutants during the Summit in Paris. At this point in time Logan, Charles, Erik and Hank / Beast intervene the meeting and prevent Raven from killing Dr. Trask. However, in the process Erik poses as a new threat and directs his power towards Raven. Needless to say, the mission to change the future is delayed and now Charles must turn back to his powers to save Raven and prevent Erik from doing more damage.
Back to the present, the X-men are struggling to hold on to the fort with the Sentinels nearing closer. During the time travel process, Logan slips through time at the sight of a familiar face – Major Stryker (Josh Helman) . Memories of his traumatic past with Stryker snap Logan out of his trance state in the future, where he unintentionally scratches Kitty. To keep the transmission in place, Bobby / Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) advises Professor X and Magneto that they can bring in another mutant to replace Kitty. The team retreat to the old house and find Rogue (Anna Paquin) in the holding cells, being experimented on as a source for the Sentinels’ powers.
During the rescue mission, the Sentinel’s attack and come close to taking down the crew on the ship. Professor X manages to get Rogue and Magneto back safely to the others, where Kitty is released of her duty to keep Logan in the past and take care of herself. Rogue absorbs Kitty’s powers and continues the time transportation, letting Logan know she is there to keep him going.
Without diverting from the main storyline, X-Men: Days of Future Past Rogue Cut also features a scene between Raven and Hank, who become intimate at the X-Mansion in their mutant forms. In this particular scene, Mystique asks Beast if his views of her natural self have changed, since he said she would never be deemed beautiful as a mutant in the previous film – of course they have. Lucky for us, the audience can expect to see further into their relationship next year in X-Men: Apocalypse.
In the closing events of the film in 1973, President Richard Nixon announces that the Mutant Issue is in place with Trask Industries at the White House. The Sentinel Robots switch on when Erik makes his dramatic entrance (lifting an entire stadium) to surround the members of the White House. Prior to the announcement, the mutant manipulated the design of each Sentinel with metal on the train to D.C.. In 2023, the X-men do not stand a chance against the fierce army of Sentinels and with each death, it becomes more vital for the path in the past to change.
Visuals
Rising Sun Pictures extraordinary visual effects transform time into a magical space, with awe-inspiring and memorable sequences in the film. One of the more prominent characters that meddles with time is Peter / Quicksilver (Evan Peters), who can move and think at incredible superhuman speeds. During the prison break, the escapees encounter a group of security guards in the Pentagon kitchen and it is here that the audience witness Quicksilver unravel in perfect slow motion.
In X-Men: Days of Future Past Rogue Cut, the fluid movement from the future to the past is juxtaposed when Magneto leads the way to save Rogue in the future, while his former self returns to the Pentagon to reclaim his helmet from storage, and thus ultimate power. In the new version, Erik pauses at the sight of the coin, the one from X-Men: First Class that ends the wrath of Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon).
Audio
Composer, John Ottman encapsulates the importance of time in his music, that resonate with the characters journey’s in X-men and never-ending battle. The score titled ‘Hope’ (Xavier’s Theme) is a standout, alongside ‘Time is Up’ in the opening action scenes with the Sentinels. In addition, Jim Croce’s song ‘Time in a bottle’ fits perfectly with X-Men Days of Future Past.
Overall
The theatrical version of X-Men: Days of Future Past Rogue Cut presents an alternate cut of an amazing title. The additional 17 minutes of scenes with Rogue, Magneto, Professor X and Bobby, as well as Hank and Raven, serve as a film extension for fans eager to indulge in more X-men. Initially, the unreleased footage was taken out from the original film due to time restrictions. However, the Rogue Cut manages to draw together the deleted scenes and maintain the core focus of the movie. With the Blu-ray and DVD special features, X-men fans will get their fix with the definitive documentary “Mutant vs. Machine”, X-Men: Unguarded, Gallery and Fantastic Four Sneak Peak. X-Men: Days of Future Past Rogue Cut will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD as of July 15th.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
